World Bank Chief to Make 10-Day India Visit

World Bank president James Wolfensohn will start a 10-day visit to India from Monday to review the institution's projects and efforts to eradicate pov

World Bank president James Wolfensohn will start a 10-day visit to India from Monday to review the institution's projects and efforts to eradicate poverty, a statement said Sunday.

Wolfensohn is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and a host of senior officials and, according to the statement, businessmen and community leaders.

He will also visit at least six Indian states apart from the capital New Delhi.

"During this visit, Wolfensohn will assess the impact of the Bank in India and how its mission of poverty reduction is being implemented in this country where more than one third of the world's poor live," the statement said.

It said Wolfensohn would also "evaluate the effectiveness of the decentralization of the Bank's operations in India" and see how the Indian government and the Bank could work even more closely.

He is further scheduled to review HIV prevention efforts.

India joined the World Bank in 1944 and is one of its longest-standing members. It is the Bank's largest client with cumulative loans and credits of more than 47 billion dollars as of June.

The Indian government is keen to expand this partnership, the Bank statement said, adding that its program in India "is expected to grow considerably in the next two years" -- NEW DELHI (AFP)